That’s a picture from our recent week-long stay in Port Orford, Oregon. We rented a beautiful house nestled in the hills near Port Orford Heads State Park, and just forty-seven steps down to what was practically our own private beach. Heidi took this photo when we walked down the grass-covered steps that first night at dusk. It was such a magical moment that I actually said, “It’s like something out of a fairy tale.” The southern Oregon coast is so far from the major areas of Oregon that it’s not nearly as touristy, which isn’t a bad thing at all in my book. We had fun hiking the South Slough Estuary, visiting the Cape Blanco Lighthouse, and just hanging out as a family, as we often do when we make our frequent forays to the coast.
Alas, no publishing news to report. It’s been a lot longer than I’d prefer between books, but sometimes it can’t helped. I do appreciate your emails, even the hectoring ones, because a hectoring reader is still better than no reader at all, I think. Yet in the end I just have to write my daily words and trust in the process. While I truly appreciate every reader I have, I can’t do it any other way. The books come when they come. Sometimes they come out fine the first time, sometimes they go sideways and need a bit more work, but I’ve learned the hard way (oh boy, have I) to just keep the focus on the work.
If you want a good book on the subject, check out Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel. It’s one of my favorites. When Herrigel himself was learning archery from a Zen Master in Japan, he was scolded for fixating too much on the goal itself:
“Put the thought of hitting right out of your mind! You can be a Master even if every shot does not hit. The hits on the target is only an outward proof and confirmation of your purposelessness at its highest, of your egolessness, your self-abandonment, or whatever you like to call this state. There are different grades of mastery, and only when you have made the last grade will you be sure of not missing the goal.”
